Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Valentine's Heart Garland

I've been promising a tutorial and I've finally finished it up this afternoon so here goes . . .

Supplies:sheet music, book pages, or make your ownwatercolor paper (if you're making your own pages)coffee stain (if you're making your own pages)heart punch or template for cuttinghole punch or a large eye needletwine, ribbon, string for hanging

Here are the instructions for my Heart Garland made of "faux" antique music paper. I did try real antique music paper but the sheets I had were too thin and didn't take well to being sewn together so I had to come up with an alternative. I decided to use watercolor paper which worked quite well. It was thick enough to withstand having the twine pulled through it but not quite as thick as cardstock would have been. It also has a lovely texture to it, especially when aged. I simply sprayed both sides with a coffee mixture using a spray bottle and then "baked" each sheet in the oven for a minute or two. I then printed "The Wedding March" onto each sheet, front and back. You can download the sheet music I used here. I used a heart punch to cut out each individual heart but I've also included a template you can use to cut out your own.

I then layered three hearts together, making little "sandwiches) held with a paperclip. I used a small hole punch about every quarter of an inch down the center of the heart and then "sewed" the three hearts together using twine. I left about three inches between each heart as I strung them together and a tail on either end for hanging. You can also sew without pre-punched holes using a large eye needle though I would suggest using something thinner like ribbon to string the hearts. Fold the two hearts on the outside of the "sandwiches" away from the center to open the hearts and then hang.

Suggestions:

You can string as long a garland as you would like but if you'd like to make a garland more then five feet long I would suggest working in segments no longer than five feet. Any longer and the whole thing becomes unwieldy.

Cut the tip of your string or twine on the diagonal to create a nice point for threading through your hearts and then dip the edge into some white glue and let it dry. It will stop your twine from fraying.

You can also create a page of romantic poetry or verse to print out and cut into hearts. You can make every few words red and then print in color so each of your hearts have a little red in them. You can also use images of antique Valentine's Cards or intersperse a few hearts of images on a strand with sheet music or poetry. I think that will be my next garland.

Here's a closeup of my heart garland hanging under one of the shelves in the living room.

This is my first tutorial so I hope everyone enjoys it and that it was easy enough to understand. It's hard to believe Valentine's Day is already less than a month away. I still have so many things I want to finish to display around the house. I better get busy. Hopefully, I'll have more to share with all of you soon.

Ideal Malloy Sampler

Summer Swan

Hollow Wreath

Bette 1709

Apple Tree

Perninah Frye Sampler

pattern for purchase

Mercy Sampler

pattern for purchase

Euphemia Myles Sampler

pattern for purchase

Cora Lipton's Marking Sampler

pattern for purchase

Blest Art

pattern for purchase

a word about copyright

All original designs are copyrighted by Appleseed Prim. All free patterns and patterns for purchase may be reproduced for personal use or for sale/resale, just please give credit to the designer. All photos on this website can be used, just again reference my site when posting them. Please don't copy any of the designs. If you would like to purchase one just let me know.

E-Mail Me . . .

I'm a SAHM to four beautifully exasperating children and married to a man who can either be my best friend or worst enemy (depending on my mood). The life of a mother must be constantly interruptable and I wouldn't have it any other way. But in those few moments between interruptions (also known as family) I love making sweet little things that remind me I can do more than change a diaper or sweep up cereal. I can't imagine that anyone else would be interested in what I have to say let alone the things I make but I thought I could share the things I know and help someone else create their own sweet little things.